Author: damazah@gmail.com

Multiple people are feared dead after a boat carrying 95 people sank on Kariba dam in Zimbabwe, with rescue operations under way.Police said 90 passengers and five crew were onboard the vessel when it capsized on Tuesday, but it may have been overloaded, with other reports pointing to a higher number based on the registered ticket sales.The vessel, which had left in the morning in bad weather according to a witness who spoke to AFP, may have been hit by a wave and overturned.Lake Kariba, which straddles the border with Zambia, is one of the world’s largest man-made reservoirs, supporting…

During my years on the global board of The Nature Conservancy, and now as its chair, I have learned to hold urgency and hope at the same time.The urgency is clear. Climate change is intensifying heat, fire, floods, drought, and unstable weather. Biodiversity is disappearing at an alarming rate. Forests, rivers, oceans, and soils face mounting pressure. These changes reach directly into our own lives, affecting the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, and our physical and mental health.Yet I also see a remarkable source of hope: we are entering the greatest philanthropic opportunity for…

Hello, TechScape readers! Danielle Abril, editor of the Guardian’s Reworked series on AI and the future of work, filling in for Blake Montgomery this week. Major legal battles against Meta over child safety are playing out in courts across the US – and the tech giant is losing. Recent rulings raise big questions about social media companies’ responsibility to their youngest users. Meanwhile, more key executives have jumped ship from Google as it battles OpenAI and Anthropic in the race for AI dominance, and Meta’s smartglasses face a fearsome backlash. Let’s dig in!The pressure on social media giants including Meta…

The recent outing by the Chairman of Nigeria Revenue Service, Mr. Zacch Adedeji, on Sunday Politics, was a blanket verdict on the characters of persons in the President Bola Tinubu administration. Olawale Olaleye writes. After watching the Chairman of the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), Mr. Zacch Adedeji,  fumble on simple questions around basic principles of good governance and sound leadership, it’s easy to come to terms with the reality that, there are moments in public life when a single sentence tells you considerably more about an official than an hour-long interview ever could. His recent outing on Sunday Politics, a…

Leaving the laboratory to take up a position elsewhere is an exciting milestone for many young scientists. But sorting through years’ worth of samples and data while preparing for your next career stage — and often a move to a different city or even a different country — can be overwhelming.Here are seven tips to smooth the transition and make future lab members’ lives easier.Communicate earlyPip Coen, a neuroscientist at University College London, established his lab in 2023. Although he hopes that none of his four PhD students and postdocs leaves any time soon, he already has a plan for…

On Marcell Jacobs’ right arm there is a tattoo of the Roman colosseum and a gladiator: a reminder of his fighting spirit and what Italy’s capital means to him. But in the swirling bearpit of a European championships 100m final, the former Olympic champion’s body dramatically broke down.That was the first shock. The second was the sight of two Britons, Romell Glave and Jeremiah Azu, blasting through to take gold and silver.True, their finishing times were nothing special. But tell that to the 16,000 crowd who cheered to the rafters as Glave took gold in a modest 10.09sec, with Azu…

Veteran television host Frank Edoho has ruled out finding another partner, saying he has discovered a “superpower” in being alone. The 54-year-old made the declaration on X in response to reactions to his appearance at the wedding of content creators Peller and Jarvis, where he declined to offer the newlyweds marital advice. When asked during the ceremony to advise the couple, Edoho questioned his suitability for the task and chose instead to offer them his good wishes. “You’re asking me, who knows nothing about marriage, to advise the couple? I am going to give my wishes instead. “I wish Peller…

Why go now?A thin peninsula just south of Rotterdam’s centre, Katendrecht was once at the heart of the world’s busiest port, home to continental Europe’s first Chinatown and a lively sailors’ quarter. Its later reputation as a red light district has been shrugged off – part of the city’s wider reinvention in the aftermath of extensive second world war bombing.Still Europe’s largest port, Rotterdam’s maritime history is very much evident today, with the former headquarters of the Holland-America Line now a hotel just a short hop across the Rijnhaven Bridge. The 2012 opening of this pedestrian and bicycle bridge finally…

Margaret Heggett, 95, does not remember a time when Port Talbot was ever quiet. Born and raised in the shadow of the steelworks, with a father, brother and husband who worked there, she never imagined what the town could look or sound like without its blast furnaces.“I’m not saying it was beautiful, but there were jobs. We did know the closure was coming and we have to move with the times but it’s affected the town a lot and it’s very sad,” she said.The south Wales town, one of the most deprived in the UK, is still grappling with the…

Paid paternity leave for police in England and Wales is to double, after the Guardian revealed last year that officers were “mocked and ostracised” for taking time off to spend with their babies.The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has increased the amount of paid parental and adoption leave for officers from one week to two across all forces, with fathers’ leave upped to be in line with mothers’.Before the change, only a quarter of forces offered two weeks’ full pay, with others offering one week on full pay and the second week on statutory pay. This resulted in only 40% of…